More Like Her
by SugarRoses
Summary: The curse has finally been broken! But can Mine finally find happiness with Ayame? Or will someone else claim his heart? (Het & yaoi pairings featured: Mine x Ayame, Tohru x Ayame, Hatori x Ayame, Yuki x Tohru, Kyo x Tohru, Mitsuru x Ritsu, Akito x Shigure)
1. Hope

((Hello, everyone. I'm back. c: I've been busy with school. But I always intended to write another Fruits Baskets fanfiction, and here it is! \\(owo)/ I hope you all enjoy this first chapter! Please review! Thank you so much!))

Mine Kuramae thought that all her problems would be solved once the Sohma family curse was broken. She thought that her endless days of longing would finally come to a close. That she would get the fairy tale ending she had dreamed of since she was a little girl.

After all, she had loved Ayame Sohma since the first day they met. She had walked in to his shop simply looking for a job, and she had left having found the love of her life. At least, that's how she felt. She had never expected to be struck with such a powerful emotion during an interview. But then again, she had never met anyone like the mysterious and enchanting snake before then. Not even close.

And he loved her too. He said he did. Right after his curse was broken, he had rushed to embrace her, telling her he loved her, telling her he was born to love her! She had never experienced a happier moment than then.

Until she realized that he loved her only as a friend. His dearest friend, his most beloved in the world. But still, a friend.

Now, on one bright clear morning, she watched as he held a maid's costume against his body happily. He turned to her and asked, "Well, what do you think? Hurry up, hurry up and tell me! It's a masterpiece, isn't it? Of course it is. I made it after all."

All Mine could do was laugh, as she was well-accustomed to. Standing up from her desk and putting her sewing needles down atop it. She stepped closer to her, examining the costume. Breathing in his scent though she told herself not to.

"With my help, you know," she teased. Seeing a thread that had come loose on the hem, she reached for her needles and concentrated as she quickly stitched it back up. "And now it's perfect! Just like usual!"

"You think she'll like it?"

"I think she'll love it."

Ayame grinned, putting the costume back on the desk and picking up the telephone. "Sally? Yes, it's Ayame Sohma. Mmhm. Your costume is ready for pick-up! Yes, I just finished it this morning. All right. I shall see you then. Fare well."

The young man hung up the phone and leisurely sat behind Mine's desk, sighing contently. Mine stared at him for a few moments. Lost. He was just so beautiful, she couldn't help it. Eventually, though, she snapped herself out of her trance and plastered on another fake smile. The most frequent kind she ever showed him anymore, though he didn't seem aware of this fact in the slightest. Good ole oblivious Ayame. "So what now, boss? How far along are you on the sailor suit?"

"Not far, not far. The design is about halfway complete."

"Well, why don't I go make us some tea and then I can help you finish it?"

"That sounds just perfect. As usual." Ayame smiled intently at her. She blushed before strolling into the adjoining kitchen and putting a powder blue teapot on the stove.

Little did she know that Ayame was watching her. A look of intrigue settled in on his face before confusion took over, and he turned away. It was at this moment that Mine looked back and watched her boss as he sat up straighter behind the desk. Taking his sketchbook out from one of the desk drawers and beginning work, surely on the helm of producing another masterpiece.

Her loving gaze slowly turned into one of sadness. She turned back to the teapot, closing her eyes and sighing the kind of deep and heavy sigh only the heartbroken could accomplish.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

Later that day, Mine sat outside her favorite cafe, right across from the shop. She was joined by Akito Sohma and Mitsuru Sohma. In the past six months since the curse was broken, a lot had changed. One of the more surprising changes had been the friendships that were suddenly cultivated without the curse hanging over everyone's heads.

Mine had met both Mitsuru and Akito at Mitsuru's wedding to Ritsu Sohma, which occurred only one month after the curse was broken. Ayame had brought Mine as his 'date', although by that point, she knew that it was only a meaningless title. Mine and Mitsuru instantly got on.

Akito took longer to warm to Mine's friendly, outgoing nature, but Mine felt compelled to get to know all of the Sohmas as well as she could. Even though she doubted she would ever be a part of their family. They were still important to Ayame, and so they were by default important to her. So she made every effort to become Akito's friend, and in time, she was successful.

Eventually, the three became like a female version of the Mabudachi Trio. Now they sat, as they often did, outside the coffee shop. Sipping their lattes and talking about life.

Except Mine, usually the most talkative of the three, was eerily silent. Staring at Ayame's shop across the street.

"You're still in love with him, aren't you, Mine?" Akito suddenly asked.

Mine whipped her head back toward her friends. "What? What gave you that idea?"

"Maybe the fact that I don't even have to say who I'm talking about when I say 'him'?"

Mine paused. Swallowed. "Well, I don't know how to fall out of love with someone! You'd think I'd have learned it from my parents, but...they didn't teach me how to do it for myself."

Suddenly Mitsuru looked up from her coffee. Which she had been blowing on, in a panicked way, to cool down. "Wait a second, who are we talking about here? Who's 'him'?"

Akito rolled her eyes and put her hand to her forehead. "Ayame, obviously!"

"Heavens to Betsy! You're in love with your boss?"

Akito continued, "And that's not even the issue."

"Akito, can you not?" Mine asked, her face turning hot. "I don't really want to talk about this."

Mitsuru whined. "Aw, come now, you told Akito all this but you don't want to tell me? You're almost as cruel as Shigure!"

Quickly waving her hands, Mine assured, "No, no. It's not that I don't want to tell you or that I don't trust you! It's just that I'm trying to move on and it doesn't help to keep thinking about it or talking about it."

"Well, you were already thinking about it, clearly," Akito pointed out. "And we're already talking about it, so we might as well just tell her."

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

Back in the shop, Ayame sat behind his own desk, sketching. The bell rang at the entrance of his shop, and Hatori Sohma walked in. Ayame looked up and smiled brightly, putting his sketchbook down.

"Oh, my! Tori-san! What are you doing here, darling?" The previous snake stood up from the desk and ran to approach Hatori, giving him a hug.

Hatori remained frozen in the embrace but couldn't help but offer a small smile. "Good afternoon, Ayame. I was in the neighborhood, so I thought I'd drop by. Hope I'm not bothering you."

"Not at all! You could never bother me! You should know that by now, you silly man. Mine is out at lunch anyway, and I was just finishing up a few fabulous sketches, but even geniuses need to take breaks now and then! Ahahaha!"

Hatori finally put his arms back around Ayame and even pulled him closer. His voice lowering. "Your assistant's out? So nobody's here right now?"

Ayame smirked. "I wouldn't say 'nobody's here'. You and I are certainly somebodies, aren't we?"

The doctor grinned and leaned down to kiss Ayame, who wrapped his arms around the other's neck, kissing him back with tenderness and passion.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

"So what? He sleeps with men. Nowadays that doesn't mean anything," Mitsuru offered.

Akito shot her a look. "Uh, what? How does that not mean anything? In case you haven't noticed, Mine is not me. She's all woman. She couldn't pass as a man even if her life depended on it."

"Of course I noticed! I'm not saying she should try to pass a man! The things you come up with sometimes, Akito," Mitsuru said. "What I'm saying is things aren't as black-and-white as they used to be." Mine looked to Mitsuru curiously as she continued, "You know what I think you should do, Mine-chan? I think you should go for it."

"Go for what?"

"For it! For him! I mean, if you can't get this fellow out of your mind, you should just do something. Kiss him or something."

"He's gay, Mit-chan!"

Mitsuru shrugged. "I thought I was straight until I met Ritsu."

Akito raised an eyebrow. "Ritsu is a man! You're married to him and you still haven't figured that out yet? Says a lot about your sex life."

"I know he's a man!" Mitsuru said, eyes widening, cheeks blushing. "B-but at the time, I didn't! I just fell for Ritsu as a person, not as a man or woman! T-that's all I meant!"

"Fine, fine. Don't have a panic attack over it," Akito said. "But men and women are different. If a man's gay, he's gay. End of story. And Ayame is obviously gay. You haven't known him for long, Mitsuru, but I thought it would be obvious even to you. Our whole family has known it ever since he was a little boy. He was, and still is, disgustingly flamboyant."

Mine took this chance to take a long, extra long sip from her coffee drink. She hadn't known, clearly. She had been working for, and falling for, Ayame for an entire year before she found out. She knew he was flamboyant, of course. She knew he was obsessed with fashion and spoke in a very expressive way and was more beautiful than ninety-nine percent of the women in Japan. But yet, she never even considered the possibility that he was gay. Now she chalked it up to her love blinding her. Her hope blinding her.

But then Mitsuru said, "But Ayame...I mean, his whole career is built around making lingerie for women, right? So we already know what's in his head most of the day: women in sexy outfits. There must be something to that!"

"He sells more to men than women, really. And besides, baristas have to think about coffee a lot. That doesn't mean they want to have sex with coffee," Akito said.

As Mitsuru and Akito continued to argue, as they frequently did, Mine looked back across the way. At the shop, deep in thought.

"...Go for it?" she suddenly asked.

Mitsuru turned away from Akito and flashed an encouraging smile at Mine. "Oh, yes. Seduce that man."

"Don't listen to her, Mine," Akito interjected. "It seems that being married has made her lose her mind. Trying to seduce him would more likely lead to your termination than anything else."

As Akito's words flew in and out of Mine's ears, she continued staring at the shop. And then a nervous, hopeful, and genuine smile crossed her face for the first time in forever.


	2. Seduction

((Thank you so much for the reviews, favorites, and follows! Very very much appreciated! \\(^_^\\) Please enjoy chapter 2!))

Meanwhile, at Kaibara High School, the lunch bell had rung. Tohru Honda, who was extraordinarily special to the Sohmas, was at this moment just a nameless face in the crowd of students piling out of the classroom, rushing off to claim the best seats they could find in the cafeteria. Some kids even knocked into her as they tried to get ahead, but she just apologized for being in their way and continued smiling cheerfully.

Then she saw Yuki Sohma walking out of a nearby classroom. A girl bumped into him as well, but now that the curse was broken, he had no need to panic. Instead he smiled just as cheerfully as Tohru. No, he didn't like being bumped into, but any small reminder that the curse was broken was enough to fill the former rat's heart with gladness.

"Yuki! Hi!" Tohru called out, catching up with him and falling in stride with him as they ambled off to the cafeteria.

"Oh, hello, Miss Honda. How was your class?"

"Oh, it was wonderful!" Tohru said. "Well, we took a test, and I was kinda nervous for it, so I guess it wasn't so wonderful, but um, I think I did okay on it, so maybe it was!"

Yuki laughed and shook his head. "I'm sure you did just fine. Though this morning, before I left for school, I saw that you left your biology textbook behind at home. Did you need it? I would have brought it with me, but my backpack was already completely full."

"W-what? I did?" The brunette's big blue eyes widened, and she threw her hands up to her cheeks. "Y-yes, I do need it. Biology is my next class!"

"You can borrow mine if you want. I already had biology this morning."

"Oh, really? Are you sure? Thank you so much, Yuki. I really appreciate it!"

The two stopped in the hallway, Yuki retrieving the textbook from his backpack and handing it to Tohru. She smiled and bowed respectfully before him.

Once again, Yuki couldn't help but smile. Laugh. "You're a bit of a strange one, you know that?"

"Strange? I'm strange?" She blinked cutely.

With an affectionate smirk, Yuki shook his head again and led Tohru to the first vacant table he could find, where the two sat and opened their paper bag lunches together.

"By the way, did you know your brother is going to be a guest speaker for my class at the end of the month?" Tohru asked, smiling.

Yuki looked up, unnerved. "W-what? My brother?" He frowned. "What could he possibly be speaking about? How to become the most arrogant person on the planet?"

"O-oh, no! Not at all! We're doing a series on local business owners. They're going to come in and share their secrets, the problems they faced when trying to get their businesses started, all that kind of stuff!"

"But Ayame owns a lingerie shop," Yuki pointed out. "That's not really school-appropriate, is it?"

"Um, heh, I don't know." As she took a bite of her apple, Tohru found herself suddenly feeling uncomfortable. She had hoped that, since the curse was broken, things would magically become perfect between Yuki and Ayame. She wasn't sure why she thought that. The curse had nothing to do with their many problems, as she was well-aware.

It did seem like they were making some progress over this past year, but then Yuki always reacted this way whenever she brought the former snake up for any reason, and she wondered if the siblings would perpetually take two steps forward and one step back. "I think Mr. Baker said that he was going to talk about being a fashion designer and owning a dress shop," she attempted.

Yuki rolled his eyes. "A dress shop, huh? He does know how to twist things around to suit his needs, that's for sure."

Tohru looked down at her lunch nervously. "W-well, I think your brother's really impressive, Yuki. He turned his passion for design into a successful career. It's really admirable, don't you think?"

Yuki shook his head and glanced at his lunch. Seemingly not hungry anymore. "So what was your test on today anyway?"

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

Back at the shop, later that afternoon, Ayame and Mine sat at a small round table together, sketching side by side.

"What about some ruffles here?" Mine suggested.

"Ruffles?" Ayame put a finger to his chin in deep contemplation. "Or perhaps a bow on each sleeve."

"Hm, what about both?"

"Both might be nice."

Mine leaned in closer to Ayame as they worked. This didn't escape his notice, as he looked up from his sketchbook and directly into her eyes. The two stared at each other for a moment. A moment that seemed like a eternity. Maintaining intense eye contact, before Ayame finally chuckled awkwardly and returned his attention to his sketches.

But Mine wasn't satiated by this minuscule taste of closeness. "You know, these costumes are always so cute. We really do make quite the team."

"That we do!"

"But a lot of people don't know just how cute the costumes are going to be until they see them on someone."

"Hm. You think so?"

"I do! So I was thinking...Well, you know how I usually come to work in my traditional's maid costume? What if I starting coming in to work dressed in a different outfit every single day instead? A maid one day but a schoolgirl another day and a nurse another day, you know?"

Ayame smiled brightly but kept his eyes on his sketchbook. "I think that's a splendid idea! I do get a bit tired of seeing that same old maid costume every day. It's a classic, don't get me wrong! But it would certainly be welcome if you shook things up a bit. And it would give our customers a greater sample of the work we produce here!"

"That's exactly my thought! I'm glad you like it! Thank you, Boss!"

"You shall begin tomorrow!" he instructed. "Perhaps you could start with-"

"The bunny costume!" Mine quickly suggested before Ayame could continue. He looked taken aback, since his assistant rarely ever interrupted him. But she bravely toiled on: "Easter may have passed, but bunnies are still a lovely trademark of springtime!"

"Hmm...the bunny costume..." As usual, Ayame's finger went to his chin as he pondered this idea in a seemingly profound way. The brunette waited with bated breath before he delivered his verdict: "It seems you are positively overflowing with wonderful ideas today!"

A sigh of relief. "Another compliment! Thank you, thank you, Boss! I really do think the bunny costume is a perfect choice! I'm so excited!"

"So am I. In more ways than one."

Mine froze at this comment, her face filling with color. Ayame quickly realized what he said. Waved a dismissive hand, laughing. "I'm jesting, of course. Honestly, Mine, you should know by now that I can make a naughty joke out of anything!"

"Y-yes, of course, Boss! But...you've never made one about me before," she said with certainty, because if he did, she would have definitely remembered and recorded the remark word-for-word in her diary.

"I'm sorry," Ayame said, though he didn't sound particularly sincere. "That was highly unprofessional of me."

"No, no! It's fine. Really, it's fine." Mine smiled to herself, the second genuine smile of the day. Ayame finally glanced back over at her and offered her a smile to match the one on her face before continuing his sketch once again.

"But as for the sailor suit, we decided on bows and ruffles, yes?"

"Yes!" Mine nodded eagerly. "Just because you like bows doesn't mean you can't like ruffles too."

"What?"

"Never mind! Yes, I think bows and ruffles would look great together!"

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

The next morning, Mine stepped quietly into the shop. The bunny costume she was wearing was by the far the sexiest she had ever worn to work. Which was clearly the reason she insisted on it.

The sleeveless bodice was made entirely of black satin and clung to her every curve. Fishnet stockings, six-inch heels, and fully erect white bunny ears completed the look. She had worn her hair down instead of in her usual childlike braids, and she had even replaced her glasses with contact lenses.

If this didn't seduce him, then she would give up for good. She promised herself that. One last try. One last hope.

She knew she looked damn good in the costume, but as she entered the shop, she suddenly felt awash with embarrassment and regret. What if he knew what she was up to? What if he could tell that she was trying to impress him? What if Akito was right and things were just as black-and-white as they seemed?

What if she was making a complete fool out of herself?

"Yes, the last week of April. Not on Tuesday because I am guest-speaking at the high school. But Wednesday, I can do." Ayame was in the middle of a phone call when Mine entered. His back was turned to her. She considered running out the door and going home to change into her maid's outfit.

But then he turned around and saw her. Too late. No going back now. His eyes widened as they looked her up and down. "Ah, yes...actually, I'm going to have to call you back," he told his customer before hanging up and continuing to stare at his assistant.

"Well? What do you think?" she asked with a timidness in her voice that neither of them had ever heard.

Ayame put his hand on his hip and swallowed a lump in his throat. "Ah, well...it's interesting."

"Interesting?"

The silver-haired man then turned away. As if caught doing something he shouldn't. "We should get to work! We have a busy day ahead of us!"

A heavy stone of disappointment sunk into the pit of Mine's stomach. "Oh...right."

Ayame sat down at the round table and Mine sat next to him. They began sketching again. This time, in silence, until Mine decided to ask, "Hey, boss? Didn't you have that date with Hatori last night? How did it go?"

"Actually, it didn't go quite as swimmingly as I expected!" Ayame admitted.

"Oh? Why? What happened?" She tried her best to keep her happiness at this confession out of her voice.

"Well, it's...it's hard to explain."

Usually Mine would respect Ayame's privacy and assure him that he didn't need to tell her anything he didn't want to, but even though he didn't react to the bunny costume the way she wanted him to, she still viewed this whole day as her last chance. Thinking of it that way made her more daring than usual. "Can you try to explain it though? I'm very curious."

Ayame looked over at her, surprised again at her boldness. But he had long considered her a confidante, someone he could trust with almost anything. The only person he had ever told about the curse, even. "Well, as you know, I have worshipped Tori-san ever since we were young. He has such strength of character! Such morality and sensitivity! I always admired that about him, since those were qualities I had a difficult time seeing in myself."

"You seem moral and sensitive to me, Boss!"

A chuckle. "Thank you, but...no. Not truly. I have an endless list of resplendent personality traits, of course, but 'moral' and 'sensitive' are not at the top of it. Anyway, I was always attracted to Tori-san because of these qualities that I lacked. I suppose somewhere along the way, I developed this theory that if he and I were to ever become...romantically involved...that we would just complete each other so perfectly."

"But?"

"But...now that we finally are dating..." he began, trailing off.

Mine stopped sketching, looking at him intently. There was no way she was backing down on finding out the truth about this. "Now that you're finally dating...he's not as perfect as you once thought?"

"Oh, no, it's not that! Tori-san is every bit as wonderful as I have always known he was!" Ayame assured, almost looking offended at the mere notion that the doctor was anything less than flawless. "It's only that...as much as I love him, and I do..."

"Yes?"

"I don't know. Romantically, we just don't click," he finally concluded.

Mine considered this for a moment. Was this her chance? She felt an enormous pressure to word her next sentences just right. "Oh, I understand. Sometimes you click with someone, and sometimes you just don't. It's kind of weird, isn't it? How we don't choose who we click with. It just happens, and we have no control over it."

"It is." Mine's heart leaped when Ayame agreed so instantly this time. "And sometimes you click with someone that you thought you'd never click with. That can be rather scary."

"Has...has that happened to you?"

"Once or twice, yes."

"Have you ever clicked with a woman?" The words flew out of her mouth before she could stop herself. As her cheeks flared up, she rapidly shook her head and her hands in front of her. "Oh, I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked you that. That was so unprofessional of me! I'm sorry! You don't have to answer!"

But to her shock, Ayame answered without hesitation: "I've never slept with a woman, if that's what you're asking, but I have clicked with a woman."

Mine's movements stopped. "Once or twice?"

Putting his pencil down, Ayame turned to look directly into Mine's eyes. "Just once so far."

The two stared at each other for a few intense moments before Ayame cupped Mine's face in his hands and leaned in for a kiss. Mine managed to close her eyes immediately and kiss him back. Her hands linking together at the back of his neck. Her heart drumming almost frighteningly fast and hard against her ribcage.

She could hardly believe what was happening. If this was a dream, she hoped she would be asleep for the rest of her life.


	3. Victory

((**Guest**: Thank you for your review! I'm glad you think the characterizations are accurate and that you are enjoying the storyline! I hope you like chapter 3. c:

**Ami Meitsu**: Thank you so much for your reviews on both chapter 1 and 2! :D I appreciate how much thought and insight you put into your reviews. Also, thank you for bringing the Japanese school customs to my attention. I'll try to make that more accurate in future chapters, though now I've established that Tohru and Yuki have a couple different classes at least, so I'll have to keep that consistent. Please enjoy chapter 3!

**To everyone who is reading**: The first part of this chapter is somewhat sexually explicit. If you don't want to read that part, just skip down to the first scene break (the o-o-o-o-o-o) Thank you and please review! xoxo))

But this wasn't a dream. It was reality. A beautiful, unbelievable reality. It was when Ayame slipped his tongue into her mouth that she knew for sure it wasn't just a fantasy. Because she had had dreams like this before, many times, but even her imagination wasn't powerful enough to simulate what it was really like being kissed by him. Pure exhilaration.

Her stomach soon bubbled over with butterflies, and he stood up from his seat while continuing to kiss her. Pulling her up with him. His hands wandering up the skin-tight black bodice of her costume. She hadn't a moment to stop and think, only time to enjoy each new touch.

His fingers made their way up her hips and curves. But stopped when they just about reached her breasts. He then pulled away from the kiss, and the two stopped to catch their breaths.

"I-it's okay. You can touch them if you want," Mine assured quietly, sensing his hesitancy.

The former snake looked back at her with an expression of anxiety that was very uncharacteristic of his usually over-confident persona. "Well, I...I've never..."

"I know," she said. Looking to the ground. She knew the next sentence would take all her moral willpower to spit out. "If...if you don't want to, you don't have to."

Ayame stood there for a moment. Contemplating, before he pulled away from Mine completely. Turning away, he walked toward the door. Mine was instantly and fiercely overcome with regret.

"Oh...okay. Well, at least I tried," she whispered to herself. But that didn't give her much consolation.

What did give her consolation was Ayame reaching the door and turning the 'open' sign in the window to 'closed' before approaching his assistant again. She looked up, eyes as big as saucers.

"Mine-chan, would you sue me for sexual harassment if I asked you to go upstairs with me right now?" he asked.

"What? Oh, God, no! No, no, no. Of course not!"

Ayame smirked, satisfied with that answer. Taking her hand and leading her upstairs to where hi apartment rested above the shop. The paired entered the cozy apartment, still holding hands. They looked at the bed in front of them and then at each other. Laughing nervously.

"Boss, are you sure you want to do this?" Mine asked after her chuckle subsided. "Because...I have to be honest with you. I want this. You. Very badly. But I also love you and so I need to make sure that you're really okay with all this!"

Ayame stopped laughing as well and put his hand to Mine's cheek, looking into her eyes seriously. "Believe it or not, I've wanted to do this for quite some time."

"You wanted to experiment with a woman?"

"I wanted to do this with you."

A warm blush exploded across Mine's cheeks as her eyes widened again. "Oh...oh, my...!"

Smiling affectionately at the woman, Ayame leaned in for another kiss, which she happily accepted. In moments, they made their way to the bed while kissing, laying down, Ayame atop Mine. They began tearing each other's clothes off hungrily and throwing them to the floor. Which surprised Mine because she always figured Ayame would treat his clothes with the utmost care even when in caught up in moments of passion. And also because she never truly thought he would be this passionate with her.

Eventually, he arrived at her bra. She sat upright, and he reached behind her to unhook the bra, fumbling as he tried.

"I'm sorry, you'd like that as a lingerie designer, I'd have a better grip on this. Literally. Hahaha!"

"It's okay. Don't worry about it!" Mine chuckled and reached behind to unhook it herself, throwing it to the ground to join the rest of their discarded clothing. She then took a deep breath in to make her breasts stick out more as Ayame took in the sight. Hoping against hope that he would like what he saw and wouldn't be disgusted by it.

The man's glistening green eyes stared at his assistant's bare upper body for a few long moments before he finally smiled. "You're so beautiful, Mine. So, so beautiful..." He then finally reached out to touch the breasts he had been gazing at. Awkwardly placing his hand over one of them and caressing her nipple.

She moans softly and leaned in to his touch. But then she noticed that his hand was shaking slightly while he touched her. "Are you still okay, Boss?"

"I'm hard as rock, but I'm still okay," he replied with a laugh. Mine smiled in relief and leaned forward to pull at the elastic band of Ayame's boxers. Taking the hint, he pulled them off, exposing his erection.

"Oh, wow. You weren't joking," Mine said, giggling girlishly.

"For once, I wasn't!"

Mine continued to smile as she pulled off her final item of clothing: the lacy red panties she had specifically chosen to wear on this day of seduction. She never dreamed that they would actually be seen the same day though. She hoped that the bunny costume might have a certain alluring effect on Ayame, maybe make him see her in a different light, but she didn't think that within a half hour of her arrival to the shop, they'd be in bed together like this. It still felt like a whirlwind, almost too good to be true.

But she was more than happy to go right along for the ride. No matter how surreal it all felt. Soon she threw her panties to the floor and then lay back down, pulling Ayame atop her again.

"You just tell me if you want to stop, okay, Boss? It doesn't matter what point we're at! If it starts to feel wrong...or bad to you, just tell me, okay?"

"All right, but I'm not going to want to stop," Ayame assured one final time. "I may be a masochist in the bedroom sometimes, but not enough to stop this!" With that last reassurance, Ayame leaned down to kiss Mine again while slowly entering her. He then broke the kiss immediately to let out a gasp of surprise at the new feeling. "A-ah...it feels so...wet and...tight..."

Mine flushed and wrapped her arms around his back. "And good?"

He answered her by beginning to thrust in and out of her, slowly at first but soon after quick and hard. She arched up and moved with his rhythm, meeting each of his moans and gasps with ones of her own.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

Later that evening, Mine walked down the street with a new spring in her step. Or maybe it was an old one. The bouncy, confident way she used to walk before she found out Ayame was gay all those months ago. Now that that revelation had been reversed, she felt like she was finally back to her old self. Though even happier than ever, for obvious reasons.

She was meeting Akito and Mitsuru tonight for their weekly sewing circle. Neither one of these women knew anything about sewing, but both were interested to learn, and Mine was a great teacher. Mitsuru wanted to learn so that she could knit Ritsu scarves and mittens when the weather got colder, but Akito's reason? That still remained a mystery to all of them.

This week's sewing circle took place at Mitsuru and Ritsu's new house. Mine had been over there dozens of times since they bought it last month, but she never failed to be impressed. The exterior was painted medium blue, with a white door and a white picket fence around the yard. The interior boasted hardwood floors, plenty of windows, and a fireplace.

It was not a mansion by any stretch of the imagination but it was large enough to support a family of about five. Two loving parents and three children. Mine thought it was just perfect, and now she couldn't help envisioning herself getting married to Ayame and buying a house and starting a perfect family of their own.

Akito was always less admiring than Mine of this abode. She denied it, but there was still a large part of her that wished Ritsu and Mitsuru had chosen to live at the Main House and raised the next generation of Sohmas there, and felt betrayed that they had decided otherwise. So every time she visited Mitsuru, she found something new to critique.

"Was that a monkey mailbox I saw out on your front lawn?" Akito said, eyebrow raised, as she entered on this particular evening.

Ritsu, who had been in the kitchen cooking dinner, came into the foyer dressed in a frilly pink apron. "Oh! Y-yes, it is a monkey mailbox! I'm sorry, you don't like it, Akito-sama?!"

"No, I most certainly don't like it. It's extremely tacky! Looks like something you picked up at a flea market! Is that really the first impression you want to give your visitors? You must remember that even though the curse is broken, you're still a Sohma, and everything you do reflects on this family."

Ritsu fell into panic attack mode. Running around the foyer in a craze. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to reflect badly on the family! I thought the monkey was cute and that it represented my past and the Zodiac and I'm so sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry! Please forgive me!"

Mine hung her jacket up on the coat rack and approached Ritsu hurriedly. "W-well, I noticed the monkey mailbox too, but I happen to love it! It's so cute and unique, Ritsu! It really does represent all you've been through and how you're a stronger person because of it!"

This settled Ritsu slightly. Though he still looked on the verge of a stroke. "R-really? But...but Akito-sama said..."

"What's going on in here?" Mitsuru asked, finally joining the others from her bedroom, where she had been finishing getting ready for her friends' arrival. "Oh! Mine, Akito, you're already here! Wait. Akito, did you do this?" She asked, gesturing at her frantic spouse.

Akito groaned and took a seat on the couch. "All I did was offer a simple opinion. It's not my fault that your husband still hasn't received the intensive therapy he so clearly needs."

Mitsuru shot Akito a nasty look, but she knew there was no use in arguing. Instead, she turned back to Ritsu and calmed him with a soft kiss. "Why don't you go finish dinner, my love? That should soothe your nerves! And please don't apologize to Akito. This is our home, and we are free to decorate it however we like."

Ritsu appeared uncertain but soon nodded. He headed back into the kitchen, but not before turning to the head of the family once more and mouthing 'sorry'. Akito rolled her eyes and took out her sewing needles and thread.

Mitsuru shook her head and sighed. "Anyway. Mine, can I get you anything? Wine?" She deliberately chose not to ask Akito the same question.

Mine found this to be the perfect opportunity to lighten the mood and to tell her friends what she had been dying to share with them all day. "Well, sure! A glass of red wine would be nice. But...nothing could be better than what I got this morning."

Akito glanced over at her, interested despite herself. "What you got this morning? Is there finally a new drink on the menu at the cafe?"

Mine giggled to herself and sat on the armchair across from Akito. Shaking her head and blushing. Mitsuru looked between the two as she poured herself and Mine wine. Slowly a look of realization brightened her face. "No way. You didn't!"

"I did," Mine said.

"Shut up!"

"His lips shut me up good. And his-"

"Oh, my God. Stop. Stop right there!" Mitsuru insisted, panicking, her face reddening just as much as Mine's.

Akito's eyes darted quickly between her friends, confused and frustrated. "What? What are you two talking about? And why am I suddenly the one out of the loop?!"

Mitsuru smirked, enjoying the fact that for once, she knew more than Akito. She was going to milk this opportunity. Especially after how the former god treated her dear husband. "So Mine, was I right or was I right?"

"You were right! You were so right, Mit-chan! I owe it all to you!" the short brunette assured.

Akito was fuming. "What? Right about what? What happened?!"

Mitsuru continued, "But how did it happen?! Did you kiss him like I told you to?"

Finally, Akito began to understand. "Kiss him? Are we talking about Ayame?"

Mine replied to Mitsuru, "Actually, he kissed me first!"

"No!"

"Yes!"

Akito stood up from the couch and threw her sewing needles to the floor in a tantrum. "Are you talking about Ayame or not?! Just tell me!"

Mine laughed and turned to Akito with a smile. "Yes, Akito. I'm talking about Ayame. Who else? There is no other man for me, and I'm so thankful that I didn't just give up like you told me to!" she added.

Though Mine meant this last comment playfully, it didn't help Akito's foul mood. "I told you that for your own good! I can't believe you went and disobeyed my advice and listened to hers instead!" she yelled, pointing at the book editor accusatorially.

Mitsuru frowned. "It was my advice that worked! Haven't you heard anything she's been saying? She and Ayame had...had...es-ee-ex!"

Akito looked put off for a moment. Almost bested. She then sat down again and scoffed. "Well, if you ask me, it's completely idiotic to have sex with a gay man. You were obviously just an experiment for him. He gets bored easily, and probably thought it would be amusing to do something like this. Stir up trouble."

Mine looked down. She hadn't even considered that. Ayame assured her that he had been wanting to do it for a long time. It didn't seem like a random whim, but Akito had a special way of planting seeds of doubt in her mind.

Sensing this, Mitsuru turned Mine's attention away from Akito by asking, "So tell me, was he any good? Or completely clueless?"

Mine smiled. Glad for the distraction. "Well, his instincts carried him pretty far. I did have to teach him some things, but he was a quick learner. And an eager one."

"Excuse me, I'm just going to go throw up now," Akito said.

Mitsuru ignored her. "Oh, my heavenly days! So what now? What now? I mean, did he like it? Are you going to do it a second time?"

"You mean a fourth?"

Mitsuru paled, about to faint. "Oh, my...oh my!"

Suddenly Ritsu entered the room again, unable to tune out the loud and seemingly scandalous conversation. "Hello again! May I ask what you ladies are you talking about?" he questioned timidly. Seeming eager to partake in the girl talk.

Akito immediately replied, "We're talking about how much longer it could possibly take for you to finish that dinner. We're starving, and you cook as slow as a snail moves."

"Oh! I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry! I'll go finish it right now!" With that, the former monkey flew back into the kitchen faster than Mitsuru could tell him to stay. She scowled at Akito, who shrugged casually and continued to knit.

"So...what do you thin I should do next, Mit-chan?" Mine asked. "I value your advice! It's gotten me this far!"

Mitsuru turned back to her with a grin. "I think you should ask him out on a real date! You have to act fast and get him to think of you as a potential girlfriend, not just his assistant-with-benefits."

"Oh...you're right. That makes perfect sense!"

Akito scoffed. "You want my advice? Even if you won't take it?"

"Yes, of course, Akito!"

"Go get the morning-after pill. Find a new job, preferably one where your boss is ugly or female or both. And stop pursuing flaming homosexuals."

Mine paused to think about her friends' contrasting advice. Getting her own sewing needles out of her bag finally and continuing work on a scarf she was making for Ayame. She then looked up at her friends with a bright smile. "I'm going to ask him on a date! Tomorrow!"


End file.
